


Space Ride With A Cowboy

by Brumeier



Series: Bite Sized Fic 2020 [18]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010), Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Bounty Hunters, Kidnapping, Kissing, Law Enforcement, M/M, Mission Fic, Prompt Fill, Public Display of Affection, Public Sex, Rescue Missions, Teamwork
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:35:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22792606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brumeier/pseuds/Brumeier
Summary: John is a Marshal in the Pegasus Galaxy, and captain of theMaverick. Along with his team - Teyla, Ronon, and Evan - and Rodney, there will be adventures, dangers, and perhaps just a bit of personal growth.
Relationships: Rodney McKay/John Sheppard, Ronon Dex/Evan Lorne
Series: Bite Sized Fic 2020 [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1610332
Comments: 67
Kudos: 93
Collections: Bite Sized Bits of Fic from 2020





	1. Rescue. Again.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nagi_schwarz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nagi_schwarz/gifts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LJ Comment Fic for Song Titles prompt: _Stargate Multiverse, any, Space Cowboy (NSYNC)_
> 
> In which Marshal John Sheppard and his team are going after a bounty/working a rescue mission, and one of John's secrets is revealed.

“Coming up on the Traveler ship,” Lorne said.

“Open hailing frequencies,” John said.

He really hated dealing with the Travelers. They were an insular, slippery bunch that would shake your hand and stab you in the back at the same time. But a bounty was a bounty, and this one was worth quite a bit more than the usual jobs he was assigned. Not to mention he had a personal stake in this one.

“No response, sir,” Lorne said.

John narrowed his eyes at the ship on the viewscreen. “Put me on.”

“Go ahead, sir.”

“Traveler ship _Corso_ , this is Marshal John Sheppard. You’re obligated under intergalactic law 212 subsection C to come to a full stop and allow me to board your vessel.”

“They don’t care about regs,” Ronon said, sitting in the co-pilot’s seat and toying with one of the many knives he kept on his person. “Pulse blast to their engine’ll shut ‘em down.”

“Too much extra paperwork,” John replied.

“Sir, they’re engaging their hyper-space drive.”

 _Damn!_ They’d lose days tracking the ship if it went hyper-space. “Lorne, get –”

“Hold up. The ship is powering down. All systems are going offline, with the exception of life support.”

John and Ronon exchanged a look.

“Trap?”

“Better plan on it.” John tapped his earpiece. “Teyla, gear up. Worst-case.”

_Understood._

“Get us kissing close, Lorne, and engage the airlock. Traveler ship Corso, I’m coming aboard. Any hostility will be matched, so stand down.”

John and Ronon left the bridge to get geared up: pulse pistols, personal shields, restraints. John slipped on his black duster, making sure his Marshal’s badge was fully visible, and put on his hat, tipping it down just a little over his eye.

They joined Teyla at the airlock, and John brought up the hologram of Dr. Rodney McKay on his wrist unit.

“This is the guy we’re looking for. Atlantis is paying good money for his safe return, so let’s make sure that happens.”

There was thump, a loud clang, and then a hiss as the airlock was engaged.

 _Green is go, sir_ , Lorne reported.

“Mission protocols, Lorne,” John replied. “We’ll see you in a few.”

_Roger that._

Teyla punched in the code that would unlock the door, then turned the crank. Oxygen flooded the airlock in a visible mist as they crossed the gangplank, the air freezing cold. Teyla used the override code to open the Traveler ship’s airlock, and then they were on board the _Corso_.

“Marshal Sheppard. That’s far enough.”

They were greeted by five armed Travelers, all of them wearing black leather like they’d just come from a fetish club. The woman who’d spoken had a captain’s tattoo on her throat and an angry glint in her eye.

“Do I need to quote the regs to you again?” John asked. He kept a hand on his weapon but didn’t pull it.

“Travelers are exempt from boarding procedures, except by Traveler Guild authorities.”

“Except in cases of suspected homicide, terrorism, or kidnapping.”

The Captain rolled her eyes. “Do we look like terrorists, Marshal?”

“No, but this ship is reportedly carrying illegally obtained cargo in the person of Dr. Rodney McKay of Atlantis. You turn him over, maybe things go better for you.”

John could immediately see that his intel was correct, just by the way the Travelers adjusted their body language. McKay was definitely on board.

“Or we disable this tin can,” Ronon added. “And you see how long your food stores hold out. Up to you.”

John held back from throwing a glare at his partner. Ronon liked to provoke people into doing stupid things, like drawing down on a Marshal, so he’d have an excuse to fight.

“Let’s keep this peaceful. I get Dr. McKay, you get sent on your way with a fine and a six-cycle tracker. Best offer.”

There was a tense moment where John wasn’t sure how things were going to go down – at such close range the personal shields weren’t as effective, which was problematic – but then the Captain held her hand up and her compatriots lowered their weapons.

“You can have Dr. McKay,” she said. “If you can find him.”

“We are not here to play games,” Teyla said sharply.

“He’s gotten into the access passages. We’ve been unable to flush him out.”

“I’ll just assume he’s the one that shut your ship down. You snatched the wrong guy,” John said. “Patch me through to your comms.”

The Captain slipped off her wrist unit and handed it to him after tapping in an access code. “Go for it.”

“Dr. Rodney McKay, this is Marshal John Sheppard. Please report to the airlock.”

 _Prove it_ , came the immediate response.

“Get your ass down here, McKay, or we’re leaving without you.”

_That’s not how you give confirmation._

“Five minutes, or I let the Travelers keep you.”

 _You never change_ , was the muttered reply.

John could feel Ronon and Teyla’s curiosity, but they held their questions. Three minutes later the access panel above their heads popped open and a pair of legs in khaki pants dangled out.

“Someone better catch me!”

“Ronon,” John said. 

Ronon grabbed McKay by the ankles and tugged him down, eliciting a quick scream, then hooked him under the arms before he could hit the floor.

“You overgrown oaf! You could’ve killed me!”

Same old McKay. His hair was a little thinner, and he had some fading yellow bruises on his face, but he looked pretty much the same as the last time John had seen him.

“Teyla. Tracker.”

Teyla stuck the tracker to the inside of the hull and activated it. 

“Any tampering will result in a double-length cycle and increased fines,” John instructed. “Get to the next Marshal outpost in Vega Quadrant to pay what you owe. You have one quarter-cycle to get that done.”

“Get the hell off my ship,” the Captain snapped.

John tipped his hat, then pushed McKay through the airlock.

“There’s no need to manhandle me, Sheppard! I’m perfectly capable of walking under my own power!”

“How do you two know each other?” Teyla asked once they were safely back aboard the _Maverick_.

“Dr. McKay got kidnapped a lot, back when I was working freelance in Milky Way. I was always pulling his ass out of the fire for SGC Central.”

“That’s an exaggeration and you know it!” McKay poked at John with his finger.

John grabbed that annoying finger and bent it back until Rodney winced and glowered. “Stop poking me.”

“So John has rescued you before,” Teyla said.

“He married me, too, which I see he isn’t being as forthcoming about.”

Both Teyla and Ronon turned unbelieving eyes on him. John held up a hand to forestall their questions.

“Later. First I need to contact Atlantis and tell them we have their CSO in custody. Then I’ll be ‘de-briefing’ Dr. McKay. In my quarters.”

Ronon snickered at ‘de-briefing’ but offered no further comment. Teyla gave him a stern look.

“We will see you at the evening meal.”

John tugged McKay down the hall. “Let’s go.”

“De-briefing? What are you, ten? Honestly, Sheppard, you never change. I thought maybe, now that you’re a Marshal, you’d –”

John shut him up with a kiss, pressing him back against the wall and plundering his mouth. It had been seven months since he’d seen his husband, and he vowed that the debriefing wouldn’t be very brief at all.

“That’s more like it,” McKay panted when John pulled back. “I missed you too, you stupid space cowboy.”

“Gonna ride you hard,” John murmured in McKay’s ear.

McKay’s face flushed red and he pushed John back. “Stop teasing!”

He let John drag him to his quarters, and John was able to properly show how happy he was to see McKay again. Several times.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **AN:** Title from the prompted song. This prompt had me at Space Cowboy, LOL! Although with the Travelers involved, it's kind of a space cowboy vs space pirate scenario. ::grins:: I was thinking of the best way to quickly wrap this up and still get some McShep, and then I had the thought they John and Rodney are already married, just for some reason haven't seen each other in a while. (Feel free to speculate, and ArwenOak, I know you will!)


	2. Pillow Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LJ Comment Fic for Album Titles prompt: _Stargate Atlantis, any, Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd)_

“Seven months is a bit much, even for you,” Rodney said.

John made a noncommittal noise. He was still enjoying the warm glow of vigorous sex with his husband and didn’t want to get into an argument. Luckily Rodney was more than capable of carrying on a conversation all on his own.

“I know, I know. You were working. You were in the far reaches of the galaxy. Blah, blah, blah. A man needs more than a brief ‘Still alive. Miss you.’ every few weeks. Though I suppose I should be grateful to get even that much, you emotionally constipated asshole.”

“There’s a pretty picture,” John said.

He sat up and stretched, scratching idly at his stomach. Sweat and other fluids were rapidly drying there, and just thinking about it made his cock twitch. Seven months was a lot of time to make up. 

“Why didn’t you tell your crew about me?”

John looked over at Rodney, who was still loose-limbed on the bed, legs spread. Seeing him like that made John question himself, just as Rodney had. He couldn’t explain his drive to keep moving, to keep tracking down bounties and lawbreakers. Staying in one spot too long made him antsy.

“You and me, that’s between us. Private.”

“I don’t know why I put up with you,” Rodney sighed.

“Neither do I,” John replied with all honesty. “Better work harder to make it worth your while.”

He covered Rodney’s body with his own, kissing him soft and slow. Rodney wrapped his arms around John’s neck and rolled his hips. John grinned.

“You can’t win every argument with sex,” Rodney murmured.

“Sure I can.”

*o*o*o*

“Sir, we’ve been contacted by HQ. They want us to go to Silverbright Colony on Celios, Gamma Quadrant.”

“Absolutely not,” Rodney said from his seat in John’s chair. “That’s the opposite direction of Atlantis and I have important work to do.”

John called up the star charts. Celios was a moon orbiting P54-G65, and the Silverbright colony was on the dark side of it. What sort of people chose to live in darkness?

“What’s the mission?” John asked Lorne.

“The colony is reportedly harboring a fugitive. Sir…it’s Elara Kolya.”

“No. Absolutely not.” Rodney was out of the chair in a flash, his hand on John’s chest. “We’re not doing this again.”

John barely heard him. Kolya. Would he never be free of that man? John had killed him, definitively, two years ago. It had been a close thing. He’d almost lost his hand in that fight. Kolya had been the leader of a radical offshoot of the Genii, a man who used violence to solve all his problems. He’d long been a thorn in the side of the Marshals, but Kolya had taken a particular dislike to John.

Elara was his daughter, and she was carrying on the hate her father had filled her with. She was just as cold-hearted as her father, and she’d tussled with John a couple of times in the past year. John still bore a scar on his arm from their last meeting.

“Lock in coordinates,” he told Lorne.

“I need to get back to Atlantis!” Rodney protested. “We don’t have time for this, Sheppard.”

“Come on, McKay,” John said, laying on the charm. “Don’t you want to spend a little more time with me?”

“Not if you’re hunting a Kolya I don’t.”

John got into Rodney’s personal space. “Just this one time, let’s work a job together.”

He knew he had no hope of getting Rodney to join him full time. They’d already had that conversation, back in the beginning. Rodney’s work was on Atlantis. John understood that, just as Rodney understood that John couldn’t stay there.

“Sheppard –”

“Wouldn’t it be nice to see a little more of the galaxy without being kidnapped to do it?”

“Oh, very funny.” 

“Lorne, what would be our ETA to Celios?”

“Two micro-cycles.”

John dipped his head close to Rodney’s ear. “Imagine all the trouble we could get up to.”

“I hate you,” Rodney murmured in reply.

“Show me how much.”

“Uh, sir?” Lorne cleared his throat. “Your orders?”

“On my mark.” John thumbed his earpiece. “Teyla, Ronon. Brace for hyperspace.”

_Roger that._

John reached around Rodney and braced his hands on the captain’s chair, and Rodney planted his feet, his hands on John’s hips.

“Punch it, Lorne.”

Lorne took them into hyperspace, the viewscreen filled with shimmers and ribbons of light. John never got tired of looking at it.

“Destination, dark side of the moon,” he said. “Until then, shall we retire to my quarters?”

“You owe me,” Rodney said, eyes gleaming.

“I know.” John was more than up for the challenge. “Lorne, you have the comm.”

“Copy that, sir.”

John planned on making the most of those micro-cycles.


	3. Not a Sex Fiend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LJ Comment Fic for Band Names prompt: _Stargate: Atlantis, John Sheppard/Rodney McKay, Alien Sex Fiend_

The _Maverick_ came out of hyperspace on the bright side of Celios, which gleamed in the viewscreen. It was a smaller moon, uninhabited apart from the Silverbright colony that had been established on the dark side.

“What do we know, Teyla?” John asked, sprawled in the captain’s chair.

“I could not find much information on this colony,” Teyla reported. “They do very little trading with the settlements on P54-G65, and very few people visit Silverbright.”

“They doing something hinky?” Ronon asked.

“As best I can tell, they have established a carnal-based society.”

John took a moment to digest that. People traveled to Pegasus for a variety of reasons, just as they’d traveled to America in the sixteen-hundreds, and out across the Milky Way galaxy in the early two-thousands: freedom from persecution, a desire to explore the unknown, the search for utopia.

And, apparently, a place to get freaky whenever the urge arose.

“I’m not going down there,” Rodney declared decisively. 

“Scared of random sex?” Ronon asked with a grin.

“If you want to expose yourself to every STI in the galaxy, go ahead.”

“Maybe I should tag along, sir,” Evan suggested. 

“No-one is having sex,” John said. “We’re here to apprehend Elara Kolya and that’s it. Rodney, we might need your big brain. You’ll be joining us.”

Rodney sputtered, but John tuned him out. “Lorne, hail the colony and send our credentials.”

It didn’t take long to get permission for their shuttle to dock with the colony. John left a grumbly Lorne in charge of the _Maverick_ and the rest of them headed for the collection of domes that made up Silverbright. John adjusted his hat as they made their way through the airlock and made sure everyone’s pulse pistols were set to stun.

“Best behavior,” he reminded everyone.

They were met on the other side of the airlock by a woman with loose, flowing blonde hair and a sheer white shift that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. John had to elbow Rodney to get him to stop staring.

“Welcome to Silverbright,” she said. “I am Fehla Marcise, Colony Mistress.”

“Marshal John Sheppard,” John replied, drawing attention to his badge. “Deputy Marshals Teyla Emmagan and Ronon Dex. Dr. Rodney McKay.”

“What brings you to our colony, Marshal?”

John called up a hologram of Elara Kolya on his wrist unit. “We’re looking for this woman. She’s wanted in conjunction with fifteen known robberies, one count of level nine fraud, and two homicides.”

Mistress Marcise studied the hologram closely, and then shook her head. “No-one like that would be welcome here.”

“You’ll excuse us for not taking you at your word,” Rodney said snappishly. 

“I’d like to take a look around, talk to the other residents,” John said. “I can do that with your permission, or I can invoke intergalactic law 188 subsection E and detain everyone in Silverbright indefinitely.”

“That’s hardly much of a choice,” Mistress Marcise said, clearly unhappy. 

John waited her out. It was always better when they complied.

“I will give permission, provided you do not interfere with the workings of this colony.”

“I have no interest in harassing your people, Mistress,” John said.

There were no hard and fast rules against having a carnal-based society, though if enough people complained about it steps would be taken. Probably why Silverbright had set up a private community on the dark side of the moon.

“Follow me, please.”

They trailed after Mistress Marcise through a large cargo bay stacked with plastic crates and into the colony proper. 

Silverbright was like any other colony. People went about their daily activities: manning businesses, tending to hydroponic gardens, working in scientific labs. The only difference was that the people in Silverbright wore very revealing clothes – some went around completely naked – and it wasn’t unusual to see two or more people engaged in sexual activity right out in public.

“These people are sex fiends,” Rodney hissed, sticking close to John. “Please tell me there aren’t kids here being exposed to…to…that!”

He waved his hand at a woman who was bent over a bench getting fucked from behind. John would be lying if he said he was unaffected by what was happening around them. He was only human. But yeah, having kids onsite would be troubling in the extreme. Just how free were these people with their physical intimacies?

“There are no children on Silverbright,” Mistress Marcise said, sounding defensive. “They are sent to a special school planetside until they are of age. At that time, they can choose to return to the colony, or they can make their lives elsewhere.”

Well, that was one less thing for John to worry about.

“Let’s split up. Show Kolya’s picture around. If she’s here, someone will know. Keep your eyes open and you head in the mission.”

Rodney stayed with John, his eyes wide. “How do people live like this?”

“It’s just a barter system, McKay.”

“Holy crap. Look at that guy.”

 _That guy_ was an average looking man watering a bank of flowers. He had a huge cock, easily visible through his sheer white pants. John’s ass clenched.

“Sir. Have you seen this woman?”

John showed the guy Kolya’s hologram.

“Sorry, no. Wish I had.” The guy gave John and Rodney a very deliberate once-over, then cocked his hips. “Anything else I can do for you, Marshals?”

“No. Thanks.” John cut off Rodney’s protest of not being a Marshal before he could utter it.

They moved on, but John couldn’t help wondering what that guy would look like when he was hard. Or how it would be to watch him use that huge cock on Rodney’s ass. John wasn’t one to share, but it would be a nice fantasy to carry him through the nights once Rodney was back on Atlantis.

“Why isn’t anyone propositioning me?” Rodney asked. 

John rolled his eyes. “Do you want them to?”

“It’s just nice to be asked, that’s all.”

They interviewed shopkeepers, tech personnel, maintenance workers. They showed Kolya’s picture to people walking through the main square, a guy who was getting a blowjob from another guy, and the ersatz security that was keeping an eye on everything. John didn’t see any encounters that he would deem non-consensual.

“Yes, I recognize her.” A woman wearing only a skirt and nothing else nodded when John showed the picture. “She called herself Castus.”

Finally, they were getting somewhere!

“Where is she now?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know. She was only here for a short while, and then a transport came for her and she left.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Half cycle, maybe?

“Did she give any indication where she was going?”

The woman shook her head. “No. She didn’t like talking about herself.”

John could believe that. He thumbed his earpiece.

“Ronon. Teyla. We need to talk to whoever is running central comms. Kolya reportedly got picked up about a half cycle ago. I want to know everything about that transport.”

 _Roger that_ , Ronon replied.

“I’m not going to chase her across the galaxy with you, Sheppard,” Rodney said.

“Not asking you to, McKay.”

“Oh. Well, fine.”

John sighed. Now Rodney sounded hurt instead of belligerent. He wasn’t the easiest guy to deal with, but John had known that going in.

“I want you to come with me,” John said. “But I know you’ll say no, so why bother asking?”

“You don’t know what I’d say.”

“Yes I do.”

“So ask me.”

“Would you like to come with me to find Elara Kolya?”

Rodney jutted his chin out. “Yes.”

Not much left John speechless, but Rodney’s agreement did the trick. Was he purposefully trying to be contrary? Would he change his mind later?

“Don’t fuck with me, McKay.”

“I missed you, stupid. I just want a little more time before you drop me off.”

John reeled Rodney in for a hug, huffing out a laugh when he felt Rodney’s erection against his hip.

“We need to get out of here as soon as possible,” Rodney muttered. “I need an orgasm and I need it now.”

“I could give you one right here,” John said, grinding himself against Rodney.

Rodney shuddered. “Absolutely not. These people might be sex fiends, but I’m not.”

 _We’ve got it, Sheppard_ , Ronon said over the earpiece.

“Good. Let’s get back to the shuttle.”

The mission was a wash, at least for the moment, but John felt certain they could track the transport that picked up Kolya and figure out where she’d gone after Silverbright. In the meantime, he had a date with Rodney’s ass. Judging by the way Ronon dragged Evan off the bridge once they returned to the _Maverick_ , he was experiencing a similar urgency.

“Teyla, you have the comm.”

Teyla waved them off.

“Let’s go, fiend,” John said, one arm slung around Rodney’s neck.

“Not a fiend,” Rodney replied. Since he already had his hand down the front of John’s pants, it was impossible to take that seriously.

John didn’t mind.


	4. Dead in the Water

_Sir, we’re coming out of hyperspace early!_

John raced up the corridor to the bridge and slid into the pilot’s seat next to Lorne, the safety harness automatically clicking into place across his chest.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know, sir. I tried an override but nothing is responding.”

“Shit.” John sounded general quarters and quickly thumbed his radio. “Crash positions, now!”

There was no time to try anything himself, because the swirls and ribbons of light that defined hyperspace were rapidly shortening. Proximity alarms and scanning arrays would be useless until they dropped out, and by that time it might be too late. They could find themselves in the middle of a sun, getting sucked into a black hole, or…

The _Maverick_ jerked and shuddered as it fully dropped out of hyperspace, right in the middle of an asteroid field.

“Shields are up, sir,” Lorne said. “But they’ll only take so much damage.”

“Aware,” John replied tersely. 

Navigating through an asteroid field was almost impossible because the giant chunks of rock weren’t stationary, rotating and spinning even while maintaining their orbit around whatever celestial body they were close to.

“There’s a gap,” Lorne said.

“I see it.”

Orbital resonances from the planet created empty regions within the asteroid field and reaching one was their only chance.

“Sir, we’re losing power to thrusters.”

John bit back a curse. “I want all the power we have left, on my mark.”

“On your mark, sir.”

“Now!”

The burst of power was just enough to get them through to the gap, thanks in part to John’s skill behind the yoke. The shields protected them from the worst of the damage, and then they were through. And dead in the water.

“McKay!”

_What the hell did you do, Sheppard? Every system is going down!_

That was not good news. “Life support?”

_Oxygen levels holding steady, but environmental controls are down._

“Can you –”

_Already working on it. Shut up and let me do it. And turn that damn alarm off._

“Work fast.” 

John turned off the alarm and looked out the viewscreen. They were safe in the gap, for now. But if they spent too long drifting they’d be pushed back into the asteroid field, and without shields the _Maverick_ would be pulverized. 

The lights on the bridge flickered once, twice, and then turned off. The blue safety lights came up, but those batteries wouldn’t last forever. 

“Ronon. Meet me in engineering.” 

_Copy that._

“Teyla. Environmentals are down. Can you dig out every piece of cold-weather gear we have?” 

_Copy._

“Lorne, I need you to keep an eye out. If we start drifting too close to the field, you need to let me know ASAP.” 

“On it, sir.” 

John left the comm in his capable hands and used the manual override to open the doors so he could access the rest of his ship. He needed to find out what happened and how to fix it, and time was of the essence. 

*o*o*o*

“Has to be sabotage,” Ronon said. His words came out with a puff of visible air.

“I’ve been over the whole propulsion system,” John said, frustrated. “I can’t find signs of anyone having messed with it.”

“The only place we’ve been is Celios, and no-one would’ve been able to get on board without Lorne knowing,” Rodney pointed out. He was buried in an Arctic-rated parka, the furry hood framing his face. “There’s a worm in the system, but I can’t track its point of origin.”

John nodded. “A stowaway would’ve shown up on the internal scans.”

“What about the shuttle?” Ronon asked.

Rodney jabbed one of his gloved fingers in Ronon’s direction. “That’s brilliant! Of course! The cold must be slowing my mental processes.”

He pushed up from the wall he was leaning against and headed for the door.

“No-one stowed away on the shuttle, McKay,” John protested, following him to the hangar. Ronon trailed after him, the ugly green sweater he had on the only concession he’d made to the cold.

“Anyone on Celios could’ve introduced a worm into the system. Think, Sheppard! When the shuttle returns to the ship, what does it do?”

A light dawned, and John figured his brain must be cold-slow too.

“It uploads data from the trip to the ship’s computer.”

“Exactly.”

Once in the hangar, Rodney opened the hatch on the shuttle and started popping access panels in the cargo hold. It took him less than a minute to spot the imposter chip and pull it. 

There was a garish red lip print on the side of it.

“Kolya,” John snarled.

“She left before we got there,” Ronon pointed out.

“But she knew someone would be coming. Maybe even who.” John’s hands curled into stiff, aching fists. He’s put on his duster and a knit cap, but hadn’t wanted to impede his hands with gloves. “Someone at Silverbright did this on her orders.”

Rodney popped the control crystal in the port attached to his data pad, eyes scanning the code that immediately started flashing across the screen. He pulled one of his gloves off with his teeth so he could type one-handed.

“It’s not very elegant code,” he muttered to himself. “I should be able to eradicate her worm without doing any additional damage.”

_Sir? We’re getting close to the field._

“McKay.”

“Just another minute, Sheppard.” Rodney’s fingers flew across the screen. “Almost there. Almost there.”

_Marshal, we’re out of time._

“Get ready to engage thrusters, Lorne.”

“There!” Rodney said triumphantly.

The lights flickered back on, natural lighting replacing the blue glow, and warm air started flowing out of the vents. John counted off in his head how long it should take the propulsion systems to come back online.

“Now, Lorne!”

John could feel the vibration from the thrusters under his feet, and let out a sigh of relief.

_We’re fully back in the gap, sir. You’ll need to pilot us out of here._

“On my way.” John grabbed the front of Rodney’s thick jacket and pulled him in for a quick, dirty kiss. “Nice work, McKay.”

“Oh, well. You know. Ronon.”

“Ronon’s not getting a kiss.”

He did give the big guy a fist bump, though, before heading back to the bridge. They weren’t out of the woods yet, but at least they had a better chance now of escaping the asteroid field and getting back on Kolya’s trail.

She had some payback coming her way.


	5. Scum and Villainy

“Scum and villainy,” John reminded his crew while they waited for the ramp to drop down. “So be vigilant. Ronon…don’t kill anyone.”

He knew better than to tell Ronon not to start a fight, but it would be best if there weren’t any casualties. They were on a fact-finding mission, still on the hunt for Elara Kolya, and no-one would talk to them if they came in hot.

Ronon grunted his response. Not for the first time, John wondered how the guy had passed the Marshal’s psych workup.

John led the way down the ramp, duster swirling around his ankles and hat tipped forward on his forehead. He had his badge on under the coat instead of outside; no need to draw undo attention, but he’d flash it if he needed to. His blaster was strapped to his hip and set on stun.

“Lorne, if things go sideways you get back here ASAP and power up the ship.”

“Roger that, sir,” Lorne said. 

John had the _Maverick_ on lockdown, since he wasn’t leaving anyone on board. Normally Lorne was the one left behind, but he owed the guy some time planetside for a change. Ronon would keep an eye on him.

“I have the list of supplies,” Teyla said. “I am not confident I can get it all.”

“Do you mean my stuff?” Rodney asked. “Because that’s really important and I need all of it.”

John nudged him with his shoulder. “She’ll do the best she can, McKay.”

They exited the hangar, which was some distance from the main hub of La’avana. It wasn’t John’s first trip there, so he was familiar with the layout. Mechanics were set up closest to the hangars, adjacent to extensive scrapyards, and then came the stalls offering goods that had been procured by less than legal means. Street food vendors gave way to a large outdoor market that offered a mind-boggling variety of foods and spices from several different planetary systems. 

At the cross street were the antiquities market and the clothing vendors and then, depending on which direction you took, a row of bars and entertainment establishments or pawn shops and loan sharks.

Teyla peeled off at the food market, and Lorne dragged Ronon to look for art supplies. John didn’t mind everyone getting a little downtime, as long as they also remembered to casually ask around about Kolya. John was certain she’d booked passage on a ship out of La’avana.

“How do you expect anyone to remember her?” Rodney asked. “She’d be just another face in the crowd.”

“We’re going to the bar where most of the pilots hang out,” John replied. “I think that’s our best chance.”

La’avana was a busy port, though not the biggest one in Pegasus. Most of the people wandering around looked like intergalactic natives, meaning bipedal humanoids, though there were a few oddball Milky Way races here and there. La’avana had developed a certain reputation over the years as being a place where less than legal activities could flourish, which is why he’d warned the team before they disembarked. Anyone could be a thief. Or worse.

“I don’t see why you need me. I could be helping Teyla find the parts I need.”

John hooked his arm around Rodney’s neck. “Maybe I just wanted to spend some time with you.”

He didn’t need to look to know that Rodney was rolling his eyes.

“Maybe you think you can barter my tech services for information.”

“So cynical, McKay.”

Both were true. John was enjoying having his husband along for the mission, but also knew he could offer a valuable service if need be. It wouldn’t take Rodney long to upgrade a drive system, for instance.

The bar they ducked into was dark and clouded with a haze from the people using the hookah vapes in the corner. Rodney coughed, waving a hand in front of his face.

“You trying to kill me with all this smoke?”

“Vape cloud won’t kill you,” John said. 

He sidled up to the bar and ordered two shockwaves. No-one paid with credits at the ports – transactions were too easily tracked – so John slid two silver coins across the bar. They were stamped with an image of Atlantis on one side and a double moon on the other.

“Now what? You stand on the bar and wave her picture around?”

“Just drink that and wait for me here,” John said.

He’d spotted someone he knew and made his way across the bar to join her at her table.

“John Sheppard. You’re really slumming it.” She leaned back in her seat, one hand on her drink and the other on her gun. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

John saluted her with his glass. “I was in the neighborhood. Thought I’d drop in and have a drink.”

Jala snorted and lifted her hand from her gun to flip her long blue braid over her shoulder. “That almost sounded sincere. Why are you really here? Official business?”

“Personal. I’m looking for a woman who would’ve booked passage on a ship out of here less than a quarter cycle ago.” 

It wasn’t a complete lie. John was very personally invested in capturing Kolya, especially after that stunt with the _Maverick_ , but the Marshals were also eager to get their hands on her.

“I didn’t take any fares,” Jala said. “But he’ll know who did.”

She gestured at a guy sitting in the vape corner, his face mostly obscured by the mist.

“He got a name?”

“They call him Watcher. He showed up two rotations ago, and he knows everything that happens in this dreg of a bar.” Jala downed the rest of her drink. “Who’s the guy you came in with? He’s got a nice ass.”

“He’s off limits,” John replied tersely. 

“Shame.”

John made his way to the corner. Closer up he could see the Watcher was a young guy with dark skin, a leather patch over one eye.

“Watcher. Can I have a word?”

The guy took a pull off the hookah. “No law against words.”

“I hear you know everything that happens around here. I’m looking for someone.”

Watcher swept his arm out, stirring the vapor cloud. “Plenty of people here.”

John tried not to grind his teeth. “I’m looking for a specific someone. She would’ve booked passage roughly a quarter cycle ago.”

“Doesn’t ring a bell.”

John’s hands clenched into fists, and he wondered if maybe it wasn’t a good time to flash his badge.

“There was someone in yesterday, though,” Watcher said languidly. He took another pull. “Woman. Dark hair. Tattoo of an iratus on her hand.”

John felt instantly energized. “Elara Kolya.”

“She didn’t give her name.”

“Who did she talk to? Do you know if she booked passage?”

“She didn’t. Not with anyone in here.”

Could she still be planetside? Be nice to have luck run in their favor for a change.

John thanked Watcher and headed back to the bar to scoop up Rodney. Only Rodney wasn’t there. Damned impatient man.

John thumbed his earpiece. “McKay. Kolya might still be in La’avana. What’s your twenty?”

Food would be his first guess. Rodney was always hungry, and he’d made note of some of the food vendors he wanted to try before they left.

“McKay. Come in.” There was nothing but silence in John’s ear, and he started getting a sinking feeling. “Dammit, McKay! Do you copy?”

More silence. John went back out onto the street and started scanning the immediate area. There were plenty of chances for things to have gone wrong, everything from mugging to the underground slave trade.

John contacted the rest of his crew. “I don’t have eyes on McKay.”

 _I am nearest the food stalls_ , Teyla reported in. _I will check there._

“Thanks. Lorne, I want you to head back to the hangar. Keep your eyes open.”

_Copy that._

John checked the alleys nearest the bar, in case Rodney had been dragged down one and beaten up for his valuables, but there was no trace of the man. Had he simply wandered off, or been lured away right under John’s nose?

John’s bad feeling was getting worse. 

“Guys, Kolya might still be in La’avana.”

 _I’ve got eyes on her_ , Ronon reported in. _She’s headed for the hangars._

“She got anyone with her?”

_No._

John was torn. Did he keep looking for Rodney, or did he go after Kolya? Had distracting him been her plan?

Lorne reported in with a whisper. _I think I see Dr. McKay. He’s being loaded into a Class B ship. He doesn’t look conscious, sir. Shall I engage?_

“Stand down, Lorne! We don’t know who we’re dealing with. Get me the name of that ship!”

John ran, faster than he’d ever run before, dodging around people and knocking painfully into one of the food stalls.

 _It’s the_ Lastlight. _Dock 14._

Whoever it was, they were in the same hangar as John’s ship.

 _Kolya’s headed that way, too_ , Ronon said. _You want me to intercept?_

“Yes!”

John arrived at the hangar to see Kolya and Ronon engaged in a blaster fight, and it was readily apparent that the blaster would be of no use because she’d somehow gotten her hands on a personal shield.

She hopped up on the ramp of the _Lastlight_ , which was retracting in preparation for departure.

“I’ve upped the ante, Marshal!” she called out. “Catch me if you can!”

John gave a wordless, angry shout as Kolya vanished from view and the ship’s engines kicked on. There was no time to tag it with a tracker. No time to do anything but watch it leave with Rodney on board.

“Lorne!”

 _Starting her up, sir_ , came the reply.

“Everyone back on the ship! Now!”

John raced up the ramp. He’d need to access the Marshal’s central database and find out everything he could on the Lastlight. All ships had to be registered by law. He’d have to track it the old-fashioned way.

 _I’m on board_ , Ronon said.

 _I am secured as well_ , Teyla added. _And I have someone that can assist us in capturing Kolya._

“Meet me on the bridge.”

John went there himself and dropped into the pilot’s seat. Lorne had all the systems up and running, and all John needed to do was take them out of the hangar. 

“Prepare for takeoff,” he said. “Lorne, capture the signature of that ship. Might be all we have to go on.”

Ship emissions weren’t precisely unique, but it would be something. And John desperately needed _something_.

“Already done, sir.”

The _Lastlight_ was almost through the atmosphere. John gave chase. They might have had a head start, but the _Maverick_ had more speed. If he could just get them close enough for a tether, he could –

“They’re making the jump, sir,” Lorne said sharply.

“No, no, no!” He was almost in range when the _Lastlight_ went into hyperspace. John slammed his hands on the yoke. “Fuck!”

Kolya had snatched Rodney and vanished to parts unknown. John had no illusions about Rodney’s safety in her hands. She’d play with him like a cat with a mouse. She’d _hurt_ him. And it was all John’s fault.

“John.” Teyla put her hand on his shoulder, and he shrugged it off.

“She’s got him. You know what that means.”

“We can get him back.”

“Oh, really? And how are we supposed to do that?”

John turned in his chair, angry and scared and ready to take it out on Teyla. Then he saw the man standing on the bridge. Stocky, with blonde hair and three nasty scars running down the left side of his face and only narrowly missing his eye.

“Who the fuck is this?”

“He can assist us,” Teyla said. “He heard me asking about Kolya in the market.”

“I know where she’s going,” the guy said. “I can take you there.”

“And I should trust you why?” John asked. 

“Because I want some payback for what that bitch did to me.”

He had a steely tone and a look in his eyes that said he was speaking the truth. John got up from his seat and held out his hand.

“Marshal John Sheppard, pilot of the _Maverick_.”

“Danny Williams, formerly with the Global Bureau of Space Investigation.”

They shook hands. 

“Tell me everything you know,” John said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **AN:** I knew I wanted to do a riff on the Star Wars cantina with this chapter. And Kolya was always going to snatch Rodney. The surprise for me was Danny showing up. With him involved, I’m starting to pity Kolya. LOL!


End file.
